Here's Your Guide to May's First Friday in Downtown Phoenix

The downtown Phoenix art scene is mixing it up a bit for May's First Friday.

It’s your first chance to explore More Art on Moreland, a new hub for visual and performance art located on Moreland Street between Second and Third streets. Check it out between 4 and 10 p.m. on Friday, May 5.

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For parents in search of childcare options, there’s a new Date Night Drop-Off program at Phoenix Center for the Arts, where you can pay $25 for one child (then $15 per sibling) to enjoy a night of pizza and creative classes that runs from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

And of course, First Friday offerings also include plenty of exhibitions, and free performances. Here’s a look at several of your options, organized by area, as well as our “must-see” recommendations. We’ve even got a roundup of Saturday openings, in case you want to see even more art this weekend.

See work by Daniel Funkhouser inside a shipping container gallery in Roosevelt Row.

Daniel Funkhouser/Photo by Lynn Trimble

Must-See Exhibitions “punkwasp” Shortcut Gallery, an exhibition space shared by Phoenix General and Framed Ewe, presents the launch party for Carrie Marill’s punkwasp line of fashion accessories, from necklaces to bandannas. Marill is a Phoenix-based artist represented by Lisa Sette Gallery, whose downtown murals are well known to local art lovers. First Friday hours are 5 to 8 p.m. Get details on the event Facebook page.

“Weird Space” Daniel Funkhouser filled a shipping container gallery with sculptural curves, infused with shifting colors of light. See his installation, presented by Rhetorical Galleries inside a Phoenix Institute of Contemporary Art shipping container gallery in Roosevelt Row between 6 and 10 p.m. on First Friday. Get more information on the Rhetorical Galleries Facebook page.

See works by John Tuomisto-Bell at Step Gallery.

John Tuomisto-Bell

“Cause and Effect” Artist John Tuomisto-Bell explores “existential themes and paradoxical relationships with violence, sexual identity, and religion” in this exhibition of figurative works happening at Step Gallery. Friday’s opening reception runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Get details on the ASU events website.

"The Politics of Place" See works created to make the voices of migrant, immigrant, and on-the-fringe women heard. Featured artists at Eye Lounge include Gabriela Muñoz, Chris Park, and Estrella Payton. First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Find more information on the Eye Lounge website.

“Mapping” Explore images inspired by the shapes and colors of both desert and tropical landscapes in this exhibition of works by Carolina Escobar, whose sculptures were featured at Desert Botanical Garden in 2012. First Friday hours for Central Gallery at Burton Barr Central Library are 6 to 8 p.m. Friday’s opening reception includes free Rising Youth Theatre performances at 6:15 and 7:15 p.m. Learn more on the Phoenix Public Library website.

“Friends Helping Friends” Check out work by dozens of metro Phoenix artists who use diverse media from ceramics to photography. Participating artists include Tato Caraveo, J.B. Hunt, and Danielle Wood. They’ve all come together to support a local gallerist facing medical issues. Icehouse Gallery will donate all its proceeds from art sales that night to the cause. First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Get details on the Icehouse Gallery Facebook page.

“Philip C. Curtis: The New Deal and American Regionalism” See Depression-era through World War II works by Philip C. Curtis, a painter, arts advocate, and arts administrator who made a significant impact on Phoenix arts and culture. It’s one of several exhibitions you can explore with free Phoenix Art Museum admission from 6 to 10 p.m. on First Friday, when the lineup also includes storytelling, prose poetry, and dance performed by Phoenix artists including Jordan Daniels, Leah Marche, and Estrella Payton, to name a few. Learn more on the Phoenix Art Museum website.

“Truth or Fiction” Head to Grand ArtHaus between 6 and 10 p.m. to see sculptures by ASU art students working with wood, metal, and additional media. First Friday festivities also include DJ stylings and films with dystopian or utopian themes. Artists will be selling badges featuring their works, as well as glow-in-the-dark T-shirts. Get more information on the Grand ArtHaus Facebook page.

See work by Dora Hernández and other photographers at Chartreuse.

Chartreuse gallery

Grand Avenue“Effects of Altitude: Places and Faces of California’s Eastern Sierra” See a sampling of images by several Mesa Community College photography students who spent three weeks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which reflect their interpretations of “diverse visual and cultural encounters.” First Friday hours at Chartreuse gallery are 6 to 10 p.m. Learn more on the Chartreuse website.

See works created by incarcerated men and women at Unexpected Art Gallery.

ASU School of Art

“(Ink)arcerated” ASU students present art created by incarcerated men and women through a program called Creativity within Confinement, which seeks to raise awareness of the effectiveness of art programming in prisons. The first 500 guests will get a free limited edition print. First Friday hours at Unexpected Art Gallery are 6 to 10 p.m. Get details on the Unexpected Art Gallery website.

“The Dual Woman” Head to {9} The Gallery to see works by Lydia Petunia and Elizabeth Brice Heames. Petunia is a pop surrealist painter whose pieces explores female sexuality, mental health, body anomalies, and more. Heames explores themes of androgyny, nature, life, and death. First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Learn more on the event Facebook page.

“Delta of Venus” Abe Zucca presents paintings dealing with the female form, which reflect the artists’ “approach to the singularity of that form.” First Friday hours at Abe Zucca Gallery are 7 to 11 p.m. Find more information on the event Facebook page.

Read on for shows on Roosevelt Row and a few Saturday options.

See a collaborative work created with Betsabeé Romero at Roosevelt Growhouse.

CALA Alliance

Roosevelt Row “Para Un Muro Ensimismado” Check out a temporary art installation by Mexican contemporary artist Betsabeé Romero, created in collaboration with seven local artists, during her April artist residency with the CALA Alliance. Her site-specific project, located at Roosevelt Growhouse, addresses global histories or migration and power. First Friday hours are 6:30 to 8 p.m. Find details on the CALA Alliance website.

See works by Turner G. Davis of Five15 Arts at Phoenix Center for the Arts.

Turner G. Davis/Photo by Lynn Trimble

"Underground" Three new members of the Five15 Arts collective are exhibiting their work at the Phoenix Center for the Arts Gallery. Katy O'Connor will be showing new works featuring birds, bananas, and people. Daniel Friedman will be showing works from his Refugee Pixels series. Turner G. Davis works on paper mounted on wood, which "explore the dissonance between the internal and the external." First Friday hours are 6 to 9 p.m. Find more information on the event Facebook page.

“Spectacular Tones in the Essence of All” See works by Oliverio Balcells, a Tempe-based artist born in Guadalajara, Mexico. They’re featured in this solo exhibition at Herberger Theater Art Gallery, where First Friday hours are 5:30 to 7 p.m. Stick around from 6 to 9 p.m. to enjoy First Friday Live, which includes live music and painting, on the Herberger Theater Plaza. Learn more on the Herberger Theater Center website.

"Leia" See works inspired by Carrie Fisher's Leia role in the Star Wars film series at Warehouse 1005. The exhibition honors Fisher's work as a mental health advocate and cultural icon. First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Get additional information on the event Facebook page.

"Liquidity: Reflections on Water" Explore works created by Barbara Kemp Cowlin, Ellen Nemetz, and Linda Pullinsi at First Studio, where First Friday hours are 6 to 10 p.m. Find details on the First Studio Facebook page.

“Mic Night” Enjoy sculpture, drawings, paintings, and poetry created by youth in partnership with Free Arts of Arizona and The Rag Collection. It’s all part of Mic Night at New City Studio, which happens from 6 to 9 p.m. on First Friday. Learn more on the New City Studio website.

“Art Meets Design: The Work of Fred Tieken” See works with a street art vibe and socially conscious sense of humor as Design Within Reach presents paintings and works in other media by Paradise Valley artist Fred Tieken. It’s the first Arizona exhibition to feature Tieken’s portraits of kindred spirits, including Andy Warhol. Saturday, May 6, hours are 6 to 8 p.m. Learn more on the event Facebook page.

Lynn Trimble is an award-winning freelance writer and photographer specializing in arts and culture, including visual and performing arts